Religion and Homosexuality in the United States Essay

I. IntroductionReligion-led moral crusades are non novelties in American history. The abolitionist movework forcet, for instance, originated from religious teachings more or less freedom and equality among all human beings. Early education reforms and laws barring commercial business on Sundays also had similar foundations (Walzer 4). In the early twentieth century, the temperance movement agitated for a prohibition on sales of alcohol due to religious beliefs about the evils of liquor. In the 1960s, black churches and religious leaders took the lead in the struggle for equality for African-Americans (Walzer 5).Since the late 1960s, however, conservative Christian denominations have increasingly become the voice of religion- ground moral fervor in the unite States. The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, is generally acknowledged as the root cause of this phenomenon. Many right-wing Christian organizations held the aforementi aced public opinion responsible for the prevalence of premarital sex, easier access to birth control, decriminalized abortion, homo knowledgeableity and no-fault divorce laws. They believed that for a sound and healthy society to take place, these social evils must be stopped (Walzer 5).Fundamentalist Christians considered homo cozyity to be the most dangerous among the above-mentioned social evils. This is because the sexual orientation and behavior of homosexuals (clash) with the moral and religious teachings of the Bible (Walzer 5). besides if put, homosexuals are immoral for the reason that their gender and lifestyle deviates from the Judeo-Christian principle of sexual relations as a means of procreation. They must therefore be denied any venues in which they could spread their im righteousness, such as gay civil rights (Walzer 5). The conflict surrounded by faith and homosexuality in the US eventually split Christians between those who regarded homosexuality as a morality issue and those who viewed homosexuality as a social justice issue that both society and form religion must address instead of ignore (Dawkins 290).This research paper will utilize the Marxist theoretical frameworks of dialectical and historical materialism. Dialectical materialism is based on the argument that history is defined by an endless struggle between different social classes. Historical materialism, meanwhile, asserts that the present kingdom of a given society can be explained and understood by filling its past (Boobbyer 142). These theoretical frameworks are applied to the research paper through the study of the histories of gay civil rights and church-state relations in the US.To prove the thesis, the researcher will conduct a critical analysis of current government statistics or research data that are related to the topic. Qualitative descriptions of relevant government policies or research data will likewise be carried out.II. Data and Data abridgmentConservative Christian denomina tions often attack homosexuality by warning the public about the increasing frame of homosexuals in the US. As they are run on the premise that homosexuals are immoral, these religious groups would therefore claim that the rise in homosexuality would translate to an increase in social evils such as human immunodeficiency virus/ aid and pedophilia. They would further drive this point home to audiences by bombarding them with related statistics from reputable sources. In the end, bigotry and homophobia are reinforced among the addressees.Recent statistics do show an increase in homosexuality in the US from previous decades. The 1994 National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) showed that an estimated 4.3 million Americans (2.8 million men and 1.5 million women) identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual (Sprigg 78). In addition, about 1.4 million Americans (0.9% of men and 0.4% of women) were exclusively engaged in same-sex relationships since age 18 (Sprigg 78). By 2000, ac cording to the Washington, D.C.-based gay rights organization Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the gay and lesbian population in the US reached about 10,456,405. Data from the 2000 US Census, meanwhile, revealed that the number of same-sex couples in the country rose to 601,209 from 145,130 in 1990 (Burda 1).But the aforementioned figures are misleading. The institutions that produced these statistics do not have a clear idea of what constitutes homosexuality, bisexuality and same-sex relationships. legion(predicate) studies on human sexual behavior have proven that it is possible for human beings of the same sex to engage in sexual activities regardless of sexual orientation. The term homoerotic behavior refers to same-sex sexual behavior that is performed for reasons that do not include homosexuality. Possible motivations for homoerotic behavior are identity crisis, exploration, same-sex bonding, glorification of masculinity or femaleness and lack of opposite-sex partners (Turner 15 8).Mistaking homoerotic behavior for homosexuality is dangerous, as doing so has detrimental effects to both homosexuals and society in general. despotic qualities that could grow out of same-sex bonding, like caring, intimacy and nurturance, are suppressed and undervalued because such traits are associated with homosexuality (Abramson and Pinkerton 239). Furthermore, negative gender stereotypes are reinforced. Masculinity is linked with aflame detachment and superficial forms of socialization such as drinking, smoking and gambling. Femininity, on the other hand, is connected to submissiveness and lack of initiative.Experts have long debunked the connection between homosexuality, HIV/AIDS and pedophilia. It is true that HIV/AIDS was initially called the gay cancer because majority of its first victims were homosexual men. But this does not mean that HIV/AIDS is a disease that is restricted to homosexuals or that homosexuals alone are responsible for its spread. HIV/AIDS is spread by behavior and not by sexual orientation. A heterosexual who practices unsafe sex is just as prone to the disease as a homosexual who has a similar lifestyle.It is also not true that homosexuals are more prone to pedophilia than heterosexuals. As a matter of fact, about 90% of sexual abuse on children was committed by heterosexual men. A 1994 study that was published in the journal Pediatrics revealed that out of 296 cases of child sexual abuse, there were only two in which the culprit was a homosexual. Moreover, a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child was the alleged offender in about 82% of the said cases (Moe 70).aside from baseless and damaging myths, another assault that Christian fundamentalists carry out on homosexuality is the elimination of gay civil rights. Proposition 8, passed in atomic number 20s general elections on November 4, 2008, was a constitutional amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage in the state. Catholic and Mormon organizations overw helmingly supported the proposition, arguing that same-sex marriage menace the sanctity of marriage and the family. These groups were likewise concerned that allowing same-sex marriage to remain legal in California would deprive children of the right to have a normal family one that was composed of a father and a mother (Kuruvila n. pag.).The passage of Proposition 8 is ironic, considering that one of the largest and most active homosexual communities is based in San Francisco. in that respect were already about 18,000 same-sex couples who got married in California just four months prior to the passage of Proposition 8 (Garrison, DiMassa and Paddock n. pag.). The proposition would thus force the states homosexual couples to get married in one of the five remaining US states where same-sex marriage is legal Maine, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont (Montanaro n. pag.). Although Proposition 8 won 52% of votes (The Huffington Post n. pag.), some of Californias leaders ar e questioning its legality. The Democrat-controlled state Legislature, for instance, argued that the Constitution cannot be revised by a classical majority vote it would strip the minority group of their constitutionally protected right. At present, Californias Supreme Court is dealing with a serial of lawsuits that involve the contention of Proposition 8 (Ewers n. pag.).III. FindingsEven if the US Constitution clearly stated that there is an official separation between church and state, American society remains to be a deeply religious polity (Walzer 5). Simply put, American society is a democracy that continues to be heavily based on religious doctrine. This phenomenon is a legacy of the countrys colonial past the first whites that came to the US were members of spiritual communities fleeing religious persecution in England. Consequently, the Founding Fathers declare that the US would not have an official state religion. All citizens were allowed to worship as they pleased an d to openly propagate their faiths (Walzer 5).But this did not mean that the knock over about the role of religion in American life has ended. The leaders of the US in its formative years were overwhelmingly of Christian faith. Thus, it became inevitable that the legislative and judicial philosophies of American society were founded on Christian principles. The Founding Fathers, for instance, believed that despite the absence of an official religion, the US should be a Christian nation whose morality should be reflective of Christian values (Walzer 4).It is true that many Christian denominations were responsible for instigating much-needed social changes in various parts of American history. But as American society became increasingly pluralistic in the succeeding centuries, the need for more secularism in its major institutions emerged. This dilemma resulted in a conflict between conservative Christian denominations and a Christian populace that was slowly becoming tolerant of beh aviors that were used to be considered as deviant, such as homosexuality. In the process, current aspects of the societal and legal discussions of gay civil rights were negatively affected (Walzer 6).Although judges are supposed to be neutral interpreters of the law, personal experiences (including religious training and beliefs) muted shape their perspectives both consciously and unconsciously (Walzer 6). Indeed, Christian fundamentalist groups are notorious for their attempts to resist the passage of or weaken laws that promote homosexual rights (Walzer 7). In the name of religion, conservative Christian organizations will not think twice about harassing homosexuals and gay rights associations, as well as interfere with the creation and enactment of gay civil rights laws. It is no longer surprising, therefore, if legal rights for homosexuals such as same-sex marriage, protection from workplace discrimination and adoption by gay parents were attained only in the recent decades.P astor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church is an example of how far fundamentalist Christians could go just to prove their homophobic stance. He once organized a picket at the funeral of homosexual rights activist Coretta Scott King, proclaiming that her soul would be punished in hell due to her advocacy. Since 1991, Phelps has reportedly organized 22,000 anti-homosexual demonstrations in the US, Canada, Jordan and Iraq. These protest confines of his often displayed homophobic slogans such as THANK GOD FOR AIDS (Dawkins 291).IV. ConclusionConservative Christian denominations in the US were unprepared for the increasingly cock-a-hoop atmosphere of American society. They therefore harshly criticized everything that was associated with it, particularly homosexuality. For Christian fundamentalists, homosexuals were immoral because they do not comply with the Judeo-Christian principle of sexual relations as a means of procreation. Such a way of thinking eventually spawned all for ms of harassment against homosexuals, such as damaging and baseless myths, deceptive statistics and laws that hinder the enactment of gay civil rights.It would be impossible for the US to claim that it is a Christianity-based democracy when homophobia is rampant in its turf. Homophobia can be eliminated from the country by educating people regarding the myths and the facts surrounding homosexuality. Stiffer penalties for and stricter implementation of laws against hate crimes would also help. As long as people are discriminated upon for any reason other than involvement in criminal activity, there can be no such thing as a free or just society.